Toy vehicle



March 17,1925. 1,530,165 L. H. FOWLER TOY VEHICLE Filed Dec. 12. 1922 2Shets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. {.fW/S h FOWLER BY L ' A TTORN S.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m a E R QN L m wm II IA LEW/8 H. FOWLER L. H. FOWLERMarch 17, 1925.

TOY VEHICLE Fild DeE. 12 1922 Patented Mar. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES LEWIS H. FOWLER,.OF VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA.

TOY VEHICLE.

Application filed December 12, 1922. Serial No. 606,406.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS H. FOWLER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Vallejo, county of Solano,and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements inToy Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a toy vehicle of the type used by children forcoasting, etc.

It is the principal object of the invention to simplify and improve theconstruction and operation of toy vehicles of this character and toadapt the vehicle to a number of different uses.

In general, the vehicle comprises a low body or platform mounted at eachend on a truck of the type used in roller skates, that is to say, onehavin an inclined king bolt connecting the true to the body so 20 thatwhen the body is tilted to one side or the other the direction ofmovement of the truck will be changed accordingly. The body is fittedwith a handle or tongue, which is movable into three differentpositions, namely, rearwardly inclined, vertically and forwardlyinclined, there beingl latching means to hold the handle in eit er ofthe two first-named positions. When the handle is rearwardly inclined itpermits the child to ride the vehicle when in sitting position, and,when the handle is vertically positioned, it permits the child to usethe vehicle in standing position. When the handle is thrown forwardly itmay be used as a draft tongue to pull the vehicle.

One form which my invention may assume is exemplified in the followingdescription and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig.1 shows a side elevation of a toy vehicle'cmbodying my invention.

Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation.

Fig. 4 is a vertical, sectional view taken through the front portion ofthe vehicle.

Referrin in detail to the accom anying drawings, I show a body or platorm 10 mounted at the front on a pair of roller skate trucks 11, and atthe rear upon a pair of roller skate trucks 12. The front trucks areconnected to the body by means of a for wardly and upwardly inclinedking bolt 13 passing through a bearing 14, which bearing is fastened tothe body by means of brackets 15.

The rear trucks are connected to the body by means of a rearwardly andupwardly inclined king bolt 16 extending through a bearing 17 connectedto the body by brackets 18. In each case the king bolt is connected tothe axle of the truck by brackets 20, said brackets in the case of thefront trucks extending rearwardl and in the case of the rear trucksextendlng forwardly.

- The front end of the body is fitted with a handle or tongue 21 hingedto the body at 22 and having movement throughout an arc of approximately180.. This tongue carries a latch 23 pivotally connected thereto andhaving a hook 24 which is adapted to engage with either one of two ofthe openings 25 formed in the body. When this hook is in the rearopening 25 the handle is supported in a rearwardly and upwardly inclinedosition, and when the latch is in the forward opening the handle issupported in approximately vertical position. By disengaging the latchentirely the handle may be swung forwardly and serve as a tongue forpullin the vehicle. This handle or tongue is pre erably fitted with across bar 26 at its outer end.

Upon the body near the front thereof is a cross bar 27 forming a restfor the feet of the operator. In operation, a child may place the handlein a rearwardly and upwardly inclined position, as shown in dotted linesin Fi 1, and ride the vehicle by seating himsel thereon and placing hisfeet upon the foot rest 27, grasping the handle with his hands for thepurpose of bracing himself and retaining his balance upon the vehicle.It will be understood that the vehicle is steered by the operatorthrowing his weight towards one side or the other, which will cause thefront truck wheels to turn in one direction and the rear truck wheels toturn in the opposite direction, owing to the oppositely inclined kingbolts.

If desired, the child may operate the vehicle b placing one foot uponthe body or plat orm and using the other foot to propel the vehicle, inwhich case the handle is set in the full line position shown in Fig. 1.At this time the handle becomes useful to steady the operator and topermit him to tilt the body sidewise as is necessary for steering.

Another use of the handle or tongue is that of a draft bar or tongue.

Preferably I provide the vehicle with a brake consisting of a bar orshoe 28 con nected to the bottom ofthe platform or body by a hinge 29and normally held above the ground by means of a spring 30. A rod or arm31 extends up through the body of the vehicle. The operator, by placinghis foot upon this rod or bar 31, can depress the brake shoe and causeit to engage the ground, thus retarding the progress of the vehicle.

Various changes in the constructionand arrangement of the several partsherein shown and described my be employed withcut is A toy vehiclecomprising a bod frontand rear-wheeled trucks upon w ich the body ismounted, a handle hinged to the body at the forward end thereof andadapted to swing longitudinally of .the body throughout an arc ofsubstantially one hundred and eighty (180) degrees, a latch memberpivotally connected at one end to the handle, a hook formed on the freeend of said latch member, said body member having openings formedtherein at spaced distances apart longitudinally thereof, said openingsbeing adapted to receive said hook whereby to rigidly maintain thehandle in Various positions of adjustment.

LEWIS H. FOWLER.

